100 Percent Retrievers

Flower is six months old tomorrow! That means CGC testing and some dog sport training can begin! Today was a super rainy day in NC but we made the absolute most of it. Drove into Raleigh to check out a new, highly raved, Working Dog oriented store and were nothing short of impressed! They stock anything you could need from bite pillows & bumpers to Impact & Ruffland crates; we’ll be back for sure!

While we were up in that neck of the woods we paid a visit to Flower’s breeder. She was stoked to see him and it was so cool to see her reconnect with family. She was able to play with her mom and one of her brothers for almost an hour and a half today! Needless to say, she’s p**ped and had a wonderful day💕

Unexpectedly made the 9 hour haul up to Ohio this weekend for less than ideal circumstances. Nonethless, the pups got to spend their time at Gram’s house with Gram Cracker & her pup, Yolo! This was Flower’s first BIG road trip, she was perfection; from travel, to her behavior in the home and settling in her crate during the day.

Always so thankful for all of the training we’ve put into our pups and wouldn’t trade them for the world! Grateful to Grams for letting us and our 6 pack of pups stay in her home this weekend, I know they’ll miss all of the treats and hours of playing with Yolo!

Yesterday was Rum’s turn for a 1-on-1 date! We went to one of our local Tractor Supply stores to pickup a bit more grain before I started my day clipping. May I just say, this was the absolute most confident I have ever seen Rum in a public/store setting without any treats or training reinforcements?

Rum struggles with being inattentive and anxious in these particular scenarios, despite all of our dogs being raised nearly the same way over the years. When we identified the issue and its trigger, Drew & I worked hard to get her much more comfy via constant positive reinforcements and redirecting focus. I am so happy to say it’s paid off!! She was so confident to walk into the store yesterday, stayed with (and even ahead) of the cart instead of cowering/being skittish, waited patiently while I loaded the cart, and even greeted some of the team members!

So so proud of Rum finally coming out of her shell! To make it clear- we never had these issues outdoors or at other farms, just retail stores.

Did you know Cotton has multiple jobs? Aside from being a family companion, multi-sport athlete, hunting partner, and assistant horse trainer/riding instructor, Cotton also takes his role as farm manager seriously!

Cotton frequently rides copilot to our local feed stores to pickup supplies for the cats, horses, chickens and of course, the dogs! He’s an excellent errands companion and a fabulous personal shopper 🛍️

FINALLY got a decent picture of all of our labs together! All 3 colors (Yellow/Red, Black, & Chocolate) have been in our home since New Year’s when we welcomed Flower home. Of course we have Scout & Dolly too, but it’s cool to have a shot of just our retrievers!

Left ➡️ Right
🧡 100 Percent RumChata aka Rum (had an OSS late 2025 due to bilateral DJD1 elbows)
💛 100 Percent Cotton aka Cotton (our stud dog and an accomplished multi sport canine athlete)
🖤 100 Percent Flower aka Flower (our newest addition and breeding female hopeful)
🤎 A Picture Perfect American aka Appa (my husband’s dog & Cotton’s half brother, non-breeding)

Flower Power took on PetSmart this am! We visited this am to continuing practicing public access skills and to get an up to date weight for her breeder. She weighs a whopping 25 pounds even! Made use of the trip by doing some training, letting her pick out a toy, and picking up p**p bags for the little stinker! 💕

It’s been a bit quiet on here as horse show season is beginning, as does the hustle and bustle of spring! However, we were able to have our windows open in the house to let some fresh air last week, and I took this photo of Cotton enjoying the view.

I think it shows really well how Cotton’s conformation adheres to the breed standard while still being a more field or sport bred type. Cotton is 1/2 bench type/“English” & 1/2 sporting type/“American.” He clearly is not a blocky, heavy b***d bench type but also lacks small forward ears and a narrow head, leg and body like the sportier field hyper type.

Some of the physical characteristics mentioned in the AKC breed standard I think he best exudes are his “medium size” of 68 pounds, his short/straight/dense coat, a strong/athletic topline, kind or friendly eyes and of course, an “Otter” tail. He’s “eager to please and non-aggressive to man or animal.” 🦦💛

Happy Belated Valentine’s Day 💕 from Flower!

Flower had a date with the VetCo vaccine clinic and in turn, went to PetCo for her first time! She was a bit shy at first but finished up much more open but still focused on me throughout the visit. She was also perfect for the vet, as long as she had peanut butter whiz, she was happy. Lastly, she weighed in at 16 pounds!!

Night time walkies just got a little bit better! 🌙

All of the dogs got their custom length, light up dog collars from Amazon. 5 pack of cuttable, rechargeable, LED collars was only $20! Needless to say, we got two so that we had extra’s for Flower to grow into. The pack came with green, orange, red, blue, and pink collars!

Left to right:
Scout (long term guest), Flower, Dolly, Cotton, Appa, Rum

The way the dogs are sitting definitely skews perspective. Cotton and Appa are almost the same size, Rum is about 15 pounds lighter than the boys, Scout is about the same size as Rum… I think Dolly, Cotton, and Flower are the most accurately sized next to one another 😅

Cotton says you gotta look at this! 🦆 This post contains graphic photos of chicken & duck innards, don’t click past the first photo if you have a weak stomach!!
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As with most of the US, today is a snow day for us, which means a lot of inside activities! Many of you know that ANY type of game myself, my husband, or our families get, we process to the absolute fullest extent. Ie. We take all of the lesser meat cuts, heads, feet, organs, etc. that we don’t typically eat and process it for the dogs. We usually leave some cuts raw, others we dehydrate for treats or for Dolly since she has a sensitive stomach.

(Second Photo) All of that to say, I had two birds to process today; one young, whole chicken and a hen mallard my father-in-law shot, and breasted last week. After processing birds it was astonishing to see the difference in their liver sizes, color, and fat content! The chicken’s was incredibly large, lighter in color (I know there’s water added), and was really fatty whereas the duck’s was lean, smaller and was rich in color. Another reason our household prefers wild game to farm raised stock!

Regardless, the doggos will be super happy with today’s renderings at dinner time 😋

Absolutely had to post this since the rest of the TTF family was! This is one of the few times, if not the only, that Cotton & Rum will sit in the number 1 & number 2 spots for AKC Fast CAT breed rankings. Alas, here it is! Both 100 Percent Retrievers dominating the Fast CAT Lab rankings for the start of 2026! 🎉